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Previous Weeks Articles

Week 1

Patriots won their first game of the season, defeating the Buffalo Bills 23-21. Brady has lost less than five games against the bills in his whole career.

Next Week the Patriots face the New York Jets. The Patriots didn’t look as sharp as usual against the Bills, but the Jets looked even worse last week. The Patriots troubles can be boiled to a lack of cohesiveness, especially on offense. Thankfully this is a problem easily solved by playing more games together and having the great coaching staff, like they have in New England. The Jets however suffer from some bigger problems. An inexperienced QB, lack of explosiveness on offense, and holes in the defense all showed themselves in week one. That coupled with my experience of last season tell me that the coaching staff probably isn’t where it needs to be, and conversely neither are the players. I think next weeks game will be close at first, with the Patriots pulling away in the second half to win 35-21.

Week 2

Just got the news that Amendola is questionable for tomorrow’s (Thursday night) game. Its a good thing the patriots have Tom Brady, who is the only QB in the league who can still play at a super bowl level without any other offensive weapons. He has done it before and he can do it again. Peyton Manning is the only other active QB that could be compared to Brady. Even Manning has had a considerable amount of help. Hall of Famers like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne where in Indianapolis for a majority of his stay there. He also had a great running game with Edgerrin James. Brady has had Moss and Welker, and only for a few seasons. Imagine if they had switched roles. Brady is drafted to the colts and Peyton to the Patriots. Brady would have better stats than he does now, and he’s a sure shot Hall of Famer. Peyton is without a doubt talented, but he is not Brady. When Brady took over, the Patriots where essentially rebuilding. Bledsoe had lost the Super Bowl three seasons before and had been declining in output. He got injured, and Brady stepped in and lead the team to the Super Bowl. Manning couldn’t do that, seeing as it took him several seasons with a more talented team. Thank goodness for

Brady!

So the Patriots won again, defeating the Jets 13-10. A pretty low score for Nfl teams, but I think the bigger picture isn’t that the Patriots couldn’t score, it was that their defense as on point. The Jets defense played ok, but Brady was weaponless without Gronk and Amendola.

Week 3

Next week the Pats play the Bucs. The Pats get to have a little extra help this week as well. Not only do they get a longer week (having played on Thursday last week), but they are also likely to have two of their biggest offensive threats back with the likely return of both Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski.

Yes the first to week have been very narrow victories, but rest assured that Tom Brady will be winning if he has the right weapons around him. The Bucs are also going to be without their safety Goldson, who is suspended because of a Helmet to Helmet hit last week. I just got news that his suspension is overturned, so he will play, but forfeit $100,000of his pay this week. He is the forth highest paid safety in the league currently.

The Patriots can also take solace in the fact that they play in one of the weakest divisions in football, the AFC east. The Jets and Bills have basically a zero chance of making the playoffs this season. The dolphins are looking little more impressive, also having a perfect record so far this season. When you match them up with the Pats though, they will not be able to win. We can find out who the best team in the AFC east is week eight, when they finally

collide.

Week 4

The patriots won in a more convincing fashion this week, defeating the Bucs 23-3. The defense did a very good job containing the Bucs offense. Brady did a good job with the offense as well, limiting the turnovers and getting more familiar with his new corps of receivers. The Patriots defense did so well this week, that the Bucs decided to switch their starting quarterback.

That being said, the Patriots have a long way to go. They have had limited success in the redzone this season, a problem that will be addressed better when Gronkowski returns. The loss of Aaron Hernandez is turning out to be very large as well. We all knew he would be missed on the field, but as more games are completed, the more I realize that the Patriots need a reliable weapon on offense for Brady to target. He is still playing ok, but slightly under the level he is used to. I don’t attribute this to a loss of skill or aging, but to the fact that he is still becoming acclimated to his receivers, who he either hasn’t played with before or saw limited action before this season. Only time can tell if they will mesh well, I think they will. I also think that they will either sign or trade for a new receiver relatively soon. If they don’t, the are not making a serious push for the championship this season. To illustrate the point that the Pats need a receiver, for the first time in 30 years a rookie receiver caught more than one touchdown.

Week 5

Next week the Patriots face their toughest challenge so far this season when the meet the Atlanta Flacons on Sunday night. It is the first time this season that they are playing a team with a good quarterback and a medley of explosive weapons at their disposal. Although the Pats defense has been looking rather strong, they have gone relatively untested. The Falcons have a good chance to win this game. The patriots ultimately can’t keep up with the Falcons scoring and I see a relatively close game ending with the falcons winning by a touchdown or two. If Brady was on the Falcons, I would give them a three touchdown advantage.

Last week the Patriots defeated the Falcons in nail-biting fashion. Last week I had predicted the Falcons would win by a narrow margin on the strength of matt Ryan and his excellent receiving corp. What actually happened was the Patriots receivers outplayed the Falcons. I’m really impressed with the amount of improvement they have shown each week so far this season. They are looking more and more like a veteran group, and their contributions are going to make or break our season. If they can continue to play well and hopefully improve, we have a legitimate chance at the Superbowl. Without it, we just don’t have the scoring power to compete with the likes of the Broncos and the other standout teams of this season.

The game versus the Falcons was a great opportunity for our defense to be tested. We did a good job in locking the Falcons potent offense down, until the end of the game when the Falcons starting pushing hard. Our defense was still able to get the stops when it counts though, and that is the most important part of a defense.

Week 6

The Patriots faced the saints in what was a game with one of the most dramatic finishes so far this season. The patriots and saints were very well matched, and both teams did relatively well on both sides of the ball. The Patriots defense continued to show improvement, as did Tom Brady’s chemistry with his new receiving corp. With Amendola getting into the swing of things, Austin Collie starting to contribute, and Gronkowski’s imminent return, things are definitely looking up for the Pats as the season progresses.

Week 7

This weeks game is against the New York Jets. The Jets are a team in turmoil right now. Their starting quarterback, Geno Smith, has had an up and down season. They lack talent or depth at almost every position, and I think the Patriots will win by two touchdowns. I predict the final score will be 28-14 Pats. Last week against the Saints, the Patriots showed their strength and their resolve. Throughout the whole game the Pats went blow for blow with the Saints, who are also one of the best teams in the league. I find it hard to believe that we can beat the Saints and Drew Brees, and then the vey next week not beat the Jets.

So what a finish. What a rule. The fact that something so trivial and insignificant cost the Patriots the game is pretty upsetting to me. I’m struggling to understand the merit of the rule. The purpose of the rule was apparently to insure player safety. I don’t agree. I think it is almost blasphemous that it would cost any team a game, let alone my favorite. The bottom line for me is that the Patriots would have at least had an opportunity to win, but instead I feel robbed. I think it is pretty clear that the Jets have improved, but I still think the Pats deserved the win in that game. I hope we end up being the Jets downfall towards the end of the season.